Baba says, ‘This is not Deepmala because today you ignite lamps and tomorrow they become extinguished. You do not celebrate in happiness now.’

To celebrate Deepawali or Deepmala is something that people of the world do; Deepmala is not for you children, says Baba. Our New Year and new world are called the golden age. I am now studying for the new world. I am now at the most auspicious confluence age.

At present, the whole world is in darkness – the darkness of ignorance. That is, all souls have become dim. Ignorance can only leave when there is knowledge. For half a cycle, I was the master of the world; the earth and sky were all mine. Then, I forgot who I am, that I am a soul, and started identifying as a body. This one wrong thought made me into a shell from a diamond, senseless from sensible. This wrong consciousness of being a body caused me to fall prey to Ravan or the five vices. Due to operating based on the vices, I kept losing my inheritance of purity, peace and happiness and by the iron age, became completely bankrupt. The soul that once sparkled brightly based on its treasures of virtues and powers became dim, just barely lit.

The Father comes and reminds me of who I am and Whose I am. He reveals to me the story of beginning, middle and end of the cycle, that is, He reveals to me how I once ruled the world, why and how I then lost the kingdom and how I reclaim it once again. He says: ‘Remember Me and there will be light. Then you will become knowledgeable.’ Due to following the dictates of Ravan for half a cycle, souls have become those with foolish intellects, says Baba. By saying this, the Father doesn’t defame anyone, He is merely explaining the secrets of the drama. When He explains to me and makes me knowledge-full, I wake up from the deep sleep of ignorance and become alert again. Knowledge is study. My light becomes ignited again with the Father’s study. By following His shrimat, rather than Ravan’s dictates, my intellect becomes beautiful, that is, divine again. This is called the true Deepawali.

People continue to pour oil into small earthenware lamps and ignite them. However, points out Baba, Deepawali doesn’t come through that. It is the souls that have become dim, earthenware lamps do nothing for the soul. It is the Father who comes and awakens lights through pouring the oil of knowledge. He teaches me the pilgrimage of remembrance – this is the fire that lights the lamp. As long as I stay on this pilgrimage, the lamp of the soul remains lit. When I forget, as I did midway through the cycle, the light dims. I then start to stumble all over again, thinking wrong and wasteful thoughts, speaking hurtful words, and performing one wrong action after another. ‘Haven’t you stumbled and hurt yourself enough?’, asks Baba. ‘At this time, you are going from this world of thorns to the world of flowers.’ It is said that those who learn to read and write will become the masters. The Father says: ‘I make you into Narayan from an ordinary human. Therefore, you have to make elevated effort. Since I am teaching you, why do you spoil your status? Why do you not follow the mother and father?‘ 

Brahma baba surrendered himself to the Father 200%. The Father gave the signal and baba put it into action; there were no ifs, buts or later. He obeyed. Baba says, ‘follow father. You must surrender yourself fully.‘ That means, like Brahma baba, I too ONLY follow the Father’s shrimat and do so accurately. If I continue to mix my own or others’ dictates, I will keep stumbling and losing any inheritance I have accumulated. Then, I have to start all over again. Baba says, ‘very little time remains. Now make elevated effort to claim the elevated status.’ The Father teaches me the study for the new world. According to the drama, I know that this old world is to be destroyed, so why am I still attached to it? It is only when I am attached that I come under the influence of the vices and make mistakes. ‘You must have unlimited disinterest in the old world’, says Baba, ‘you must remove all attachment from it.’

When I imbibe this point of knowledge that the old world is to be destroyed, deeply in my bones, then I will learn the art of seeing but not seeing and hearing but not hearing. No longer will I waste my two most precious confluence aged treasures of time and thoughts on: ‘why is it like this?’, ‘but why did they do that?’, ‘how can they be this way?’, ‘why did he say that?’ etc. I already know the answer – it’s the old world! things don’t work well in an old house- there will be termites, leaky faucets and walls caving in. The important thing is that I don’t need to spend time analyzing ‘why and how’ people and things are the way they are, and I certainly don’t need to spend time trying to fix anything. I simply have to stay focused on what I need to do- stay aware, imbibe what the Father is teaching me and inspire others to do the same. Then, people and the world will transform automatically. Self-transformation leads to world transformation. This is why during Deepmala, people light one lamp and then use that lamp to light another and another. When my light is lit, I can light many other lamps.

Deepmala is a festival of lights that are lit and so that takes place in the golden age. There cannot be Deepmala without Dussehra or the burning of Ravan, explains Baba. This burning of Ravan has to take place now, during this short confluence age. People have been, in their ignorance, burning the effigy of Ravan year after year but he never dies, he keeps getting stronger. Only the one Father gives me the weapons of knowledge through which I defeat Ravan once and for all. Then, in the new world, it is constantly Deepawali. The lights of all souls are constantly ignited. Then, there isn’t a need to light lamps and celebrate Deepawali; in fact, in the golden age, there is no such celebration. They simply celebrate in happiness when the coronation takes place. These, Baba explains, are things of knowledge. Each soul there is pure and clean.

I have now been enlightened; as long as I remain aware, that is remain in the enlightenment, I am happy. To the extent that I remain happy, that is remain aware here, I claim my self-sovereignty. To the extent that I claim my self-sovereignty now, I will claim world sovereignty in the future. Then, there is nothing but happiness.